CAST BlackTrax 3D Reveals Spatial Audio

CAST of Toronto, Canada, proud maker of wysiwyg previsualization software, launches true 3D spatial audio for the first time in the world for its groundbreaking BlackTrax 3D technology.

BlackTrax 3D is a fully operational, fully integrated, fully realtime tracking system. Using a new cutting edge proprietary LED-IR Beacon, which is worn or otherwise attached to an object or person, BlackTrax 3D uses special static motion capture cameras to accurately pinpoint and track the movements of the tagged object or person (or multiple objects or people) anywhere in the defined 3D space and then instantly stream dynamic positional data at over 150 frames per second to external devices like lighting, audio, automation, and media servers. Each Beacon can be distinguished by its unique signature, yet they remain invisible to the human eye or broadcast camera, whichever your application. For enhanced tracking reliability, should the Beacon become blocked to the tracking cameras, the onboard accelerometer delivers redundant realtime tracking information so the object continues to be tracked. To date, the BlackTrax 3D base system can accurately track up to 46 objects or performers; multiple systems – up to 48 cameras -- can work together seamlessly, without degredation or latency, to deliver even more tracking in a greater space. Our accuracy is real – a half-inch margin at fifty feet.

The addition of spatial audio brings BlackTrax 3D to a new level. The idea of spatial audio is to take the audience member and immerse them into honest, actual reality – to remove them from their seat and put them directly in the action for an all-encompassing experience. Sound comes from all sides and spaces when it emanates from a source, and when you're filming a shot, you want to be able to give the viewer exactly what you intended for it to be – perfect.

Imagine this scenario:

You are filming a shot in a scene about financial calamity in the world – the camera starts at the far end of the table away from a window, and slowly pushes down the table towards that window. As the frame pushes past each set of people left and right of the table, the sounds coming from those people – coughs, angry dialect, conversations, whispers, all of it – would fade in, intensify, diminish, and die away as the frame got to the next more important expository bit. But people turn away to talk, and they put their hands in front of their faces to hide the emotion of their subject matter.

Simply recreating that kind of soundscape is a very expensive proposition for just a single actor on set, let alone an entire table full of people. But what CAST BlackBox Corporation has created is the answer to all of the problems that a perfect shot like that creates. Before now, only productions with a budget equal to that of a small country's GDP could create something that perfect, and only on a small scale. Now – the world is different. You can make exactly what you intended to make for your audience, as it happens, and in 6D (X, Y, Z, Roll, Pitch, and Yaw) to create your masterpiece. This is BlackTrax 3D.

BlackTrax 3D is something that your film can afford, your stage production can have within its reach because CAST has been able to simplify the tracking process so that even the smallest productions, churches, schools, and films can afford the safety and security of realtime tracking.

Let's look at another example of spatial audio with BlackTrax 3D realtime tracking:

The project is a live acoustic show with ten of your all-time favorite musicians, in high definition, and with the challenge of producing a film so clear, so perfect, and with the best immersive experience possible. So what's the solution to this challenge? BlackTrax 3D.

With BlackTrax 3D realtime tracking, you can place Beacons on each performer, monitor and collect spatial information, and recall that information at any time in the Post environment. As the guitar player moved over to talk to the drummer, the sound changed – BlackTrax 3D allows you to track that positional data and recreate the sound in the actual three dimensions in which it was captured. When your favorite singer turned his head to push that high E flat, it altered the way that the moment would be recorded in history.

The way of the future of production is to be able to provide all elements to the audience exactly how they were intended, and to immerse the audience in the perfect light and soundscape that you intended. Now you can provide the total experience for your audiences every time, under budget, and with peace of mind.

CAST will be demonstrating this revolutionary technology plus wysiwyg Beta R28 at LDI, 28-30 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida in Booth 1135. You just have to see and hear it to believe it.